Three for Tuesday

The more I rewatch the game and even some of Texas A&M, the more I think Riley Leonard is trying to figure out the Irish offense. It’s a similar spot as Sam Hartman at times as it’s a new offense with new reads, personnel and I’m not sure there is a comfort factor at this point, which is expected for every transfer quarterback at the end of the day.

Against Notre Dame a year ago, Al Golden did what he does to quarterbacks as Leonard finished 12-of-27 for 134 yards with a touchdown and one interception. Yet, if you look at the first drive against the Irish, it’s very evident Leonard is a different quarterback because he’s confident in what he’s seeing and executing. 

Play One: First play of the game. Leonard sees the blitz, looks to the right and knows he has a one-on-one on the outside to the boundary. 27-yard shot play. Yes, that’s a pass play longer than he’s completed in two full games at Notre Dame, one play into the biggest game of his career. 

Play Two: Another example of Leonard knowing where his answers are. I won’t sit here and lie and tell you where his reads are, but one of two things happened. Leonard saw his first option was covered and ripped the slant or he looked off the defense and ripped the slant. Either option is something he hasn’t done with consistency in two games in 2024, but once again, he can do it. 

Play Three: Classic Al Golden defense, where he’s playing games in the middle of the field. Man coverage across the board, but Thomas Harper hands his guy off to Xavier Watts who is playing like a robber in the middle of the field. Leonard gets pressured, steps up in the pocket and throws a shot. It wasn’t completed, but stepping up in the pocket and being aggressive....you get the point. 

Play Four: It’s not anything special from Leonard here, but I wanted to show an example of him knowing where he wanted to go with the ball, making a decision and not double clutching. 

Play Five: Another incompletion, yet it’s an aggressive play from Leonard without any type of hesitation under pressure from Notre Dame’s defense. Once again, this isn’t a play about success in yards but more about showing Leonard’s quick decision-making and will be aggressive. 

And yes, that was just the first drive against Notre Dame. You saw a confident player who took shots and made quick reads because he was comfortable in the offense. It’s very clear Leonard isn’t there yet as the second interception would have never been thrown last year as he would have hit one of the other two wide open guys on the play.

Denbrock spoke about this during fall camp and I highlighted it in a Sunday Reflections piece, but Leonard trusting himself and his teammates doesn’t happen overnight. 

Growing pains were always going to happen with this offense, especially with so many new receivers. The offensive line situation two weeks into camp made things more interesting. If Mike Denbrock can find a way to get his quarterback comfortable, the confident Leonard is the player Notre Dame needs behind center. The clock is ticking, as Notre Dame needs it to happen sooner rather than later after what took place on Saturday. 

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I’ve seen a lot of social media posts or threads about Marcus Freeman holding the offense back, and I don’t believe that is the case. Is Freeman conservative by nature when it comes to coaching decisions? That’s probably true and that goes back to playing for Jim Tressel, but also knowing he’s had a quality defense during his tenure as head coach. In year one, it doesn’t take a football savant to realize Notre Dame needed to rely on its defense with Drew Pyne at quarterback. Last year, it was much of the same as the Irish had one of the nation’s best running backs and a great defense. 

This year has been a mixed bag as Freeman was aggressive at A&M, while also playing field position in a game where both offenses struggled and then in game two, Leonard struggled and the Irish couldn’t quite find it’s run game to help open the offense up. 

In fact, I believe Freeman has stayed out of the offense during his tenure because he knows that’s not his area of expertise. Should he be involved more? Maybe? It’s not like he’s not in offensive meetings or the quarterback room and he likely has thoughts on the game plan, but I’m not sure he’s telling Denbrock to score 20 points to win 20-13 over NIU. 

Now, do I think Freeman would be more than happy to hold every team under 20 points and score 21? Sure. That would mean he’s going 12-0 and every coach would take that, right? Do I also think Freeman wants to win every game 40-0? Yes. He played at Ohio State, where they don’t hold back. 

Freeman will experience more growing pains, as two years and two games aren’t going to eliminate mistakes or oversights. But he needs to start seeing potential issues and working to get ahead of them. 

Notre Dame is a unique place, and the issue of consistently winning isn’t Freeman-centric. The fact the program has opened on the road the last four seasons (with three marquee opponents) is probably a negative piece of what makes Notre Dame unique. It doesn’t excuse him from losing to Marshall or NIU because that should never happen. Yet, it’s not making life easier for him or the program as a whole. 

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Defensively, it comes down to execution and making routine plays. The issues on Saturday weren’t about talent or even being in the right spot in most cases. There were often times Notre Dame had players in the right gap or on the edge, but failed to tackle or complete their assignment. Jaylen Sneed can’t let a running back get outside. Jack Kiser has to start making plays at the line of scrimmage. Adon Shuler, Drayk Bowen, Jaiden Ausberry, etc., have to make routine tackles. 

The concerning piece is Notre Dame hasn’t been able to get pressure on the quarterback in two games. PFF has them down for 17 hurries, but that seems a little aggressive, considering the time A&M and NIU had to throw. 

I do think Golden will have to start getting more aggressive with his linebackers bringing pressure in the coming weeks. From the eye test, it seems like Notre Dame is getting more from Ausberry, Bowen and Kygnstonn Vilamu-Asa in the blitz game as they’re a little more explosive in their first few steps than Kiser. Kiser’s strengths are coverage and finding the football, so maybe they don’t bring him as much and allow the kids to attack. (Sneed has been used more off the edge, which is why he’s not included in that group)

That said, Notre Dame needs to start to see production from Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills up front. They have the ability to impact every game and Notre Dame needs that more than ever. Creating chaos up the middle will go a long way in allowing the entire defense to do what it does best and that’s get downhill. 

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